Claims Against The Council

Councils and local authorities have a legal duty to make sure people are safe when on council property. You can suffer personal injury when this duty of care fails, often due to a slip, trip or fall. Our specialist solicitors have helped many clients to claim compensation after an accident on council property.

Very often our clients have been injured because of the council’s failure to maintain roads and pavements, but we have also helped people to claim after accidents in parks, playgrounds and schools.

Thousands of people are injured each year after accidents in public places that are maintained by councils. If you’re one of those people, our personal injury specialists could help you make a compensation claim against the council for your injuries.

Most of our claims against the council are funded on a No Win No Fee* basis, which means you won’t have to worry about legal fees if your case is unsuccessful. Our lawyers know how important your recovery is, and will help you access any specialist rehabilitation and medical treatment that you might need for your injuries.

When you contact us, you’ll speak to a member of our friendly team, who will talk to you about your injury. This initial consultation is free - from there, we can advise you on the best way to take your claim forward.

Contacting Those Responsible For Your Injuries

We’ll then get in touch with those responsible for your accident at an early stage to see if they accept the blame for what happened. If they do, we’ll try to secure some of your compensation upfront, which can fund private medical care and expenses while your claim is ongoing. These payments, known as interim payments, will be taken out of your final compensation award.

Gathering Evidence

Our experts will look into your case in detail, gathering evidence from various sources such as witnesses, CCTV and independent medical professionals.

We’ll employ medical professionals to find out how your accident or illness impacted your health and recommend the care you’ll need in the future in order to make the best recovery possible.

Final Settlement & Compensation Awarded

We’ll always try and negotiate claims out of court, keeping the claim process as short as we can. However, if your opponent doesn’t accept responsibility or doesn’t agree with the amount of compensation we feel you need, we’ll start court proceedings.

Even when trial dates have been set, claims are still often settled before reaching court. If your claim needs to be decided at court, we’ll be there to help you every step of the way, talking you through what will happen so you feel as comfortable as possible.

By making a personal injury compensation claim, you can access funds to help cover expenses, as well as any medical treatment you may need.

Every personal injury case is different, so there’s no set amount of compensation you’ll receive. The amount of compensation you’ll get will depend on your circumstances, the severity of your injuries and the long term impact.

To work out how much compensation you’re entitled to, we’ll take into account factors such as:

Expenses – including travel expenses to medical appointments, medical equipment and things that help with practical day-to-day living.

Loss of earnings – to cover any time you’ve had off work and time off you may need in the future. This figure can also cover matters such as not returning to the same role or not being able to return to work.

Pain and suffering – caused by your injury or illness.

Further treatments – to pay for any further surgery or medical procedures you may need after experiencing negligent treatment.

You normally have to make a personal injury claim within three years of your accident so it’s best to contact us as soon as possible. If you get in touch with us soon after your accident, it can make collecting evidence a little easier as there are often fewer problems finding witnesses whose statements we may need to support your case.

There are some exceptions to the three year time limit, including:

Claims on behalf of children – these can be made at any point before their 18th birthday. When the child reaches 18, they can make their own claim at any stage until they turn 21.

Mental capacity – there are no time limits to make a claim on behalf of someone who doesn’t have the ability to handle their own case.

Fatal claims – to make a claim on behalf of a loved one, you have three years from the date they died to make a claim. If a post-mortem found that the death was caused by an accident or illness, you have three years from the point where you discovered these findings.

If you would like to make a personal injury claim, we urge you to contact us as soon as possible so we can start work on your case. Call us today on 0800 056 4110 for a free initial consultation to discuss your situation.

Many of our cases are funded with a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that there’s no financial risk* to you when making a compensation claim.

At the start of your case we’ll discuss funding options with you, advising you which one we think is most suitable. If you have legal expenses insurance (LEI) or are covered by a trade union policy, these may be better options to fund your claim. Legal expenses insurance is included in many household insurance policies, so it’s always worth checking whether you’re already covered.

If we think you’re best supported by a No Win No Fee agreement, we’ll explain the process clearly. This involves setting up an insurance policy that will protect you, at no cost to you. You’ll only have to pay if your claim is successful – your opponent will pay most of our fees.

We have experienced solicitors based across the country who specialise in helping people to make claims against councils. We know the issues that you and your loved ones may be facing, and we can answer all of your questions in plain English.

Having helped many other people who have suffered injuries as a result of a council’s negligence, our lawyers have specialist experience of investigating and making claims of this type.

When the case was finally settled, the relief was enormous. I felt as if I had done everything I could to try and stop it happening to anyone else.”

Karen O'Brien, client

Frequently Asked Questions

What Types Of Claim Can Be Made Against A Council?

Local councils have a duty to make sure that roads, pavements and other public areas are properly maintained. Loose pavements or potholes can lead to nasty trips and falls, so it’s important that regular inspections take place to prevent them hurting anyone.

We could help you make a claim if you’ve been injured as a result of:

A pothole that was an inch deep or more

An uneven paving stone that was sticking up by an inch or more

Cyclists are particularly vulnerable to poorly maintained roads – if you’ve fallen off your bike after hitting a pothole, we could help you make a claim against the council responsible.

Where possible, you should take photographs to act as evidence – conditions on the road or pavement are likely to change quickly when repair work is carried out. When taking photographs of defects, it’s also useful to also take measurements of the defect. In addition, it will help if you can give us the names and addresses of witnesses and also the incident number if the police were involved.

For more information on making a claim against the council, phone one of our legal advisers on 0800 056 4110 or contact us online.

How Can Irwin Mitchell Help?

We know that an injury can have an enormous impact on your day-to-day life. That’s why we aim to take some of this strain from you by handling your claim against the council in a professional and efficient way. We will always strive to:

Support you by explaining each stage of the claim in plain English and helping you with any obligations you face as part of your case

Pursue claims to completion with dedication, making sure that you get the best possible settlement

Put your best interests first at all times

We will work hard to make sure you receive the right amount of compensation to account for the pain and hardship you have experienced, and the inconvenience caused to your daily lifestyle. If your injuries have left you needing rehabilitation or physiotherapy, we can also help you access top-quality support.

What Legal Responsibilities Do Councils Have?

If you make a personal injury claim against the council, they must prove that they had a system of regular inspection in place to flag up and fix any potential road/pavement hazards.

Our solicitors will work hard to prove that safety and maintenance standards weren’t met by the council. For example, we may be able to prove that the problems with the road or pavement had been there for a considerable period of time without being repaired. Alternatively, the council may have been aware of the issue but not taken swift enough steps to fix it.

For more information on making a claim against the council, phone one of our legal advisers on 0800 056 4110 or contact us online.

All Scottish cases will be handled by the Scottish law firm with which we are associated, Irwin Mitchell Scotland LLP. The law relating to funding is different in Scotland and you will receive separate advice about what that means as well as a separate funding agreement.

* Subject to entering into a No Win No Fee agreement in conjunction with our Allianz Litigate insurance policy and complying with your responsibilities under its terms.

Awards & Accreditations

"The lawyers are heavyweight individuals in a big firm, but they never compromise on client care. They handle cases with striking compassion and insight."

We're delighted to have been named Claimant Solicitor of the Year in the 2016 Post Magazine Rehabilitation First Awards, an award we've won on seven occasions.

"'One of the best’ and ‘go-to firm’ Irwin Mitchell covers the full range of work, and specialises in complex, unique cases."

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19 hours ago

Andrew Shankland

Irwin Mitchell proved to be extremely …

Irwin Mitchell proved to be extremely reliable and professional, and I would have no hesitation in using their services again

Good Evening Andrew
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review
We always aim to exceed the expectations of all of our clients and we are pleased to hear that you are happy with the service you have received.
Thank you for making Irwin Mitchell your legal brand of choice and please don't hesitate to get back in touch if we can offer further assistance.
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Good evening Mike
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Delivering an excellent service is our key focus so we are sorry to hear your case took a little longer than usual. We will pass on your kind review to the team, who will be pleased to know they were able to assist you throughout your conveyancing matter.
Thank you for choosing Irwin Mitchell and please don't hesitate to get back in touch if you need further assistance.
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Good Evening Vivy
Thank you for your review
We always aim to exceed the expectations of all of our clients and we are pleased to hear that you are happy with the service you have received.
Thank you for choosing Irwin Mitchell for your legal needs and please don't hesitate to contact us if you require further assistance.
Kind Regards
Donna Hutson Client Experience Assistant.

Rehabilitation means different things to different people. For some it’s being able to return to work, while for others it’s being able to become more independent around the house. Our personal injury solicitors are here for you whatever your situation is, and you can be reassured that we’ll help you access the care and support you need to make the best recovery possible.

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